Students developing apps (and businesses) on the side

There’s the app for cats. Yes, true – not feline iPhone users, but cats who play (i.e., all cats). The Guardian’s feature on young app creators leads with Oxford physics student Owen Beckett’s Cat Snaps, “a laser chasing game for cats [that] includes a function that takes a photo of your cat when it ‘wins’ the game.” Beckett says he didn’t know how to write code or make an app, but he watched YouTube tutorials and figured it out. This is how it’s done now, parents. Successful apps can be developed with the help of business plans and venture capitalists, but they definitely doesn’t have to be. The real engine of an app and key to its success is the creativity that goes into it.

Another example The Guardian gives is an app that “makes music really social” by a group of students at the University of Exeter who formed a company on the side (we’re entering an age where business can be an avocation, especially for students, and not just at the post-secondary level!).

“Student app developers are producing fun ideas and exciting solutions to problems and showcasing their work on a global platform,” The Guardian reports. “If you’ve got the skills, developing an app might be a unique way to get yourself noticed and gain valuable experience.”